Duke University

After 29 years at WCPO-TV – most of them as main co-anchor – Carol Williams will leave the 11 p.m. anchor desk in January.

Williams, the longest-tenured 11 p.m. female news anchor in town, will work part-time in 2016, and retire in 2017, said Alex Bongiorno, Channel 9 news director, in a note to staffers late Friday.

The departure of Williams, hired in 1986, means that three-fourths of the main anchor team will change in less than three years, following the exits of sports anchor Dennis Janson (2013) and news anchor Clyde Gray (2014).

For more than 40 years, the Duke Lemur Center at Duke University has been studying the lemur to learn more about this fascinating animal, as well as opening their doors to visitors so they can learn more about lemurs. Charles Welch is the conservation coordinator for the Duke Lemur Center and he’s Thane Maynard’s guest on this week’sField Notes.